A web-address record has become the latest weapon in a row over who runs Murang'a County's hospital computer system.

Governor Irungu Kang'ata posted it on X on 15 October 2026 as what he called proof that the system, Afya.KE, belongs to the government.

The Ministry of Health had said in a statement dated the same day that it neither owns nor controls it.

Murang'a, a county in central Kenya, says Afya.KE has been blocked from filing claims with the Social Health Authority (SHA), the national public health insurer, since 13 October.

Kang'ata accused the ministry of switching the system off, and the ministry says it "has not switched off the Afya Ke system."

A web address, not a deed

Kang'ata captioned his post as proof that Afya.KE belongs to the government.

He wrote that all go.ke addresses, the ending Kenyan government websites use, are registered under Treasury nameservers.

Nameservers are the settings that direct a web address to the computers behind it.

The screenshot he posted is a record for afyake.go.ke.

It lists a registration date of 25 May 2023, an expiry of 25 May 2027, and a last update on 28 May 2026.

It also lists three restrictions: server renew prohibited, server transfer prohibited and client delete prohibited.

The visible part of the image does not show who registered the address, and it does not show any nameservers.

The ministry has not responded to the post.

A web address shows who holds the name, and does not on its own show who runs the software behind it.

Where the row began: a claims block

A notice from the county's Department of Health, posted on Kang'ata's X account on 14 October 2026, said Afya.KE "has been blocked from accessing SHA claims" from 13 October.

A claim is the bill a hospital sends SHA after treating a patient, so the county said it cannot claim payment for services.

The notice said telemedicine, meaning consultations with doctors by video link, would be disrupted on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October at Muriranja's Hospital Hub and 36 rural facilities.

It does not say who blocked the access, or why.

The governor's charge

In a press statement on Wednesday 14 October, Kang'ata said Afya.KE had been switched off, The Star reported.

He said Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale had promised him in person that Afya.KE would be connected to SHA and not shut down.

The Star also noted his claim that the system was developed inside the national government and later expanded in Murang'a with software developers.

The ministry's answer

A statement signed by Duale and dated 15 October 2026 said the ministry neither owns, controls nor manages Afya.KE, and does not hold its source code.

It called the system a private arrangement between the county and its developers.

The statement said the Digital Health Agency, the national body that approves digital health systems, has not refused to certify Afya.KE, and that neither the developers nor the county has applied for certification.

It urged the governor to refrain from making misleading statements, and said SHA patients in Murang'a will keep getting care through the usual SHA systems.

It does not mention the 13 October claims block or the alleged promise.

The county's plan to move

The county said it will move its services to a system certified by the Digital Health Agency.

The notice gives a second reason: new SHA e-contracting requirements, listed as "Fire, NEMA etc," with an end-of-October 2026 deadline.

NEMA is Kenya's National Environment Management Authority.

The notice does not explain the term or say who set the deadline.

Training for telemedicine staff was set for 16 October, and for 450 medical staff on 17 October, both at a hotel in Gatanga, in Murang'a County.

The county said it hopes services will resume on Monday 19 October.

What SHA has said

SHA published a notice to healthcare providers on 15 October 2026, signed by its chief executive, Dr Mercy Mwangangi.

It extends to 31 December 2026 the transition period for existing provider contracts, which had been due to lapse on 14 October.

A contract is the agreement that lets a hospital treat SHA patients and be paid.

The notice says the 2024 to 2026 contracts stay in force during the extension, valid claims lodged in that period will be honoured, and SHA patients will keep accessing services at facilities with valid contracts.

It does not mention Afya.KE, Murang'a or the claims block.

The county's notice cites an end-of-October deadline, while SHA's notice sets 31 December for contracting, and the two may refer to different requirements.

Rules in the background

Earlier SHA rules, as reported by other outlets, may be relevant.

Kenyans.co.ke reported that SHA required contracted facilities to use a Digital Health Agency-certified hospital computer system connected to the national health information exchange.

Capital FM reported on 28 September that SHA warned facilities without a signed contract that their access to the SHA provider portal would be switched off.

No document reviewed says either rule caused the Murang'a block.

The Star reported that a ministry statement on 2 October said hospitals moving from the SHA Provider Portal, the site hospitals use to send claims, to a new system were expected to finish by 30 October.

No document reviewed says that deadline caused the block either.

What no one has yet explained

No document says who blocked the claims access, or why.

Whether any patient records are lost has not been established, and neither has how long services will stay reduced.

For patients, the open questions are whether their histories can be recovered, and when the claims link will work again.

The Ministry of Health, the Social Health Authority, the Digital Health Agency and the Murang'a County Government were asked for comment on October 15,2026 at 1pm EAT and had not responded to the request by publication.